Monday, January 01, 2007

To Whom It May Interest #4: A Personal Best of 2006

To my fellow Tapeheads,

So, Letters began on May of 2006 as my own personal outlet for musical opinion. It was a way for me to either celebrate or crucify the releases of the year and discuss past albums that have made an impression on me. I must say, for the most part, I was happy with a lot of what I had purchased. Because of the money issue, and time, it was difficult to stay within a month of the release date for a lot of what I reviewed. For 2007, I’m going to try and pick up potential reviews and have them out relatively close to their respective release dates.

Anyway…this is everything I bought for 2006. The first 15 were, for me, the heavyweights. Some of these I did not review so, for the first 15, I’m including a small blurb. If anyone wants to know more about the non-reviewed CDs, please email me or comment and I’ll get back to you with some info. In the meantime, hope you enjoy the list.

Personal Best of 2006:

1). TV On The Radio — Return to Cookie Mountain Rated 4 out of 4 Find review here.

3). Tom Waits — Orphans Rated 4 out of 4Tom Waits’s much anticipated 3-disc set of unreleased and hard-to-find material is essential for fans. Highlights include “Lie To Me,” “Widow’s Grove,” a bluesy cover of the Ramones’ “The Return of Jackie and Judy” and a wonderful reading of Charles Bukowski’s “Nirvana.”

4). Johnny Cash — American V: A Hundred Highways Rated 4 out of 4Cash’s last American release. Rick Rubin assembled this album from vocal tracks that Cash had committed to tape before passing away. It’s tragic that Cash didn’t live to see the album completed, but it’s a lasting testament to the faith and undying spirit the Man in Black embodied. Rubin’s treatment of the material is flawless.

7). Om — Conference of the Birds Rated 3.75 out of 4 I wish this album had come out when I was in high school. Chris Hakius and Al Cisneros, two-thirds of the stoner metal band, Sleep, pull together a two song epic with grooves deep enough to pack more than just a typical bong load. Definitely one of the best albums I picked up this year.

8). Dub Trio — New Heavy Rated 3.75 out of 4Dub Trio’s inclusion into the mighty Peeping Tom record led me to New Heavy. Bad Brains riffs are met with Lee Perry dub, creating paradise in the concrete jungle. It’s kind of what Sublime was going for, but without the “party” angle. Real impressive grooves and percussion.

12). Eagles of Death Metal — Death By Sexy… Rated 3.5 out of 4 Find review here.

13). Scott Walker — The Drift Rated 3.5 out of 4 Oh, Scott Walker, how you scare the shit out of me. Let me count the ways. One of the strongest and creepiest records of the year, Walker doesn’t fail to build atmosphere through heavy string orchestras and his own brand of eerie vocalization. It’s not for everyone, but it’s definitely worth checking out.

15). Slayer — Christ Illusion Rated 3.5 out of 4 A return to the Slayer of yore, with Dave Lombardo throwing down tirelessly, Christ Illusion kicks the ass off anything nü or new that passes for metal these days. They don’t sound like they’ve aged a bit.

The remaining:

16). Bob Dylan — Modern TimesRated 3.5 out of 4

17). Boris — PinkRated 3.25 out of 4

18). Les Claypool — Of Whales and WoeRated 3.25 out of 4

19). Miho Hatori — EcdysisRated 3.25 out of 4

20). Frank Zappa — Trance-FusionRated 3.25 out of 4

21). Tom Verlaine — Around and Songs And Other Things Rated 3.25 out of 4

22). Channels — Waiting For the Next End of the WorldRated 3 out of 4

23). Helmet — Monochrome Rated 3 out of 4

24). The M’s — Future Women Rated 3 out of 4

25). Sparklehorse — Dreamt For Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain Rated 3 out of 4

I thought Orphans was amazing as well, but I sort of looked at it as a compilation as opposed to an actual album and that sort of skewed my opinion. Besides, Tom Waits is ALWAYS amazing. I didn't think it would be bad for a couple smaller bands to shine a little bit, especially since their albums were awesome.